A new primer released today by LabCFTC, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission’s FinTech initiative, is a helpful report that that outlines the agency’s relationship to the virtual currency and blockchain space.
The report explains that the agency considers cryptocurrencies to be commodities, what kinds of trading activities fall under its jurisdiction, what types of activities require approval, and how other agency’s jurisdictional interpretations interact with its own. It also outlines operational risks for cryptocurrency exchanges, and we’re happy to see that their conclusions mirror those in the report on cryptocurrency risk factors we developed for Lloyds of London.
Innovators building cryptocurrency businesses that may cross into the CFTC’s jurisdiction will no doubt be appreciative of the clarity offered by this report. We applaud the CFTC for publishing this articulation of its approach to cryptocurrencies.